Trading Down, Trading Up
by made2luv
Summary: Bella moves in with her Aunt after her parents die. What happens when she meet a family that just doesn't seem right. Need Your Input! R&R please!
1. Intro

**A/N:Feel free to review/comment/criticise. It;s my first story, I have a few ideas of where it could go, but I would really like to know what you think.**

There was only one day of summer left. Unlike everyone else in my town, I was excited for school to start. Sure, they were excited for parties, dances, new classes, all that fun stuff. But not me. I was excited to the daily routine. Wake up, go to school, come home, eat, sleep, wake up, go to school, come home... You get the idea.

In short, I was excited for summer to be over.

Just a month ago, I was happy and peaceful, laying on a beautiful beach, on a small private Island in the Caribbean. I had everything I wanted at my fingertips.

Today, I was wrapped up in a few blankets (thanks to the faulty heater), staring through a window out into the rain, and deeply missing my ocean. I think my tan was even starting to fade.

A tear slid down my cheek. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, the worst decides to happen. I pushed the memory out of my mind and went downstairs for dinner.

"Bella, I got you a few notebooks for tomorrow, I didn't know what you would want. I hope they're Okay." I looked on the table where two bright pink notebooks were, my aunt stuck her head through the doorway and smiled at me. She was trying so hard. The thought of carrying two pink notebooks with me was a little weird,

"They're fine, thanks." I said , hoping to convince her. She had been so nice to me, she let me mope around the house for the last 3 weeks, my mom would never allow that.

"I made spaghetti." She said, hoping I would approve.

"Smells good." I had been so rude to her the first week, and I was determined to be different now, I had to show her who I really was.

We sat down at the table, me on the end by the stairs, her on the end by the kitchen. She folded her hands, and bowed her head, out of respect for her I did the same. "Dear lord, Thank you for all the wonderful gifts you have given us today. Thank you for the flowers in the front yard, and bunnies in the back." Her prayers were always a little childish. She always said that God didn't care how you pray. "And thank you for lovely Lilly. And watch over her tomorrow, on her first day of school, and keep Charlie and Renee by your side, so they can watch her too." Another tear down my cheek. "Amen." she started eating her salad.

I sat there staring at my plate. She hadn't noticed my tears. I looked at how beautiful she was, she looked just like my mom. They were twins, identical. They were best friends until they went off to college. Aunt Rose went to school to be a teacher and my mom went to meet a guy. And she did. She met my dad. They fell in love and moved to California. My mom and Aunt stopped talking over the years. I had heard very little of my Aunt, and had only seen her in the pictures that came with our Christmas cards every year.

"Are you not hungry?" She asked, bringing me back from my memories.

"Not really, but it does look good."

"I'm sorry, I know I'm not a very good cook. You can make yourself something else if you like." She didn't look very hurt.

"No, actually I just want to go to," I looked at the clock is was only a quarter after six. "You know, big day tomorrow."

"Okay, go get some sleep." I got up and brought my dishes into the kitchen, she had never asked me to do any chores but seeing the state of the kitchen, I decide to clean it when I get home tomorrow.

I walk through the living room, avoiding the dining room and go up the stairs. There is a small hallway, with one bedroom on each side and a bathroom at the end. I walk into the room on the left, my room. It was small, and purple. There was a twin bed against one wall and a desk against the other. On top of the desk was my computer and my journal. I decided to pick out my clothes for the next day. I opened up my closet door and looked inside, my eyes were tempted to cry again, but I didn't let them. My closet was practically empty. Most of my clothes had been left when I moved in with Rose. I had been allowed to bring 2 suitcases. I also mailed my computer, but they didn't know about it. In one suitcase, I had put all the clothes that I could fit, most of them weren't even wearable here. In the other I had put all the family photos I could find, my journal, and my address book. And that is what I showed up in rainy New Portland, Washington with. When I got off the plane, and saw my Aunt in person for the first time, she hugged me and said "We'll have to get you new clothes." That night we went to a store and bought plenty of warm clothes. Since I arrived, there had been two sunny days, and neither were warm enough to go swimming.

I looked into my closet, wishing that I would wake up in the morning and find that this has all been a dream. Knowing that it would never happen, I grabbed a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a warm sweater to go over it. I laid them on my computer chair along with my new notebooks. I took one last look outside. It was raining still as I

expected. I laid down in my bed, knowing I would cry myself to sleep again.

"Bella! Wake up! It's a beautiful day! I made pancakes!" I looked out the widow, Aunt Rose was right, it was a beautiful day, the first since I had been there.

I got out of bed and dressed quickly, I didn't know how far the school was.

When I got downstairs Rose looked at me with wide eyes.

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks."

She hurried around to hug me. "I bet you're excited,"

I forced on a smile and sat down to eat.

Again she bowed her head to pray. "Dear lord, Thank you for watching us throughout the night. Please guide us through our day and give us courage to do something spectacular. And God, please send Bella a guardian Angel, to watch her during the day. Amen."

We ate our pancakes in silence, but she kept looking at me and smiling, when I looked up at her she looked down at her food. She definitely had something planned.

She looked up at the clock. "Oh, you'd better start heading towards school, it starts in half an hour, and you want to get there early."

"Yeah, I should go." I walked over to grab my coat and saw that she had already written out directions and printed out a map, I didn't mention that I thought it would take me over a half an hour to walk there, the walk would give me time to clear my head.

"Bye, see you later." I walked out the door and stopped on the front porch. In the driveway was a black convertible. Correction. My black SSC Ultimate Aero.

I felt Aunt Rose's hand on my shoulder, "I had them fly it in, someone from the airport dropped it off this morning."

I turned around and hugged her as hard as I could. My parents had given me the car for my birthday, and I had only gotten to use it for a few months.

"Thank you so much." I said, not letting her go.

"I thought it would help you get through your day. All your stuff is still in the trunk."

I walked over to the car and opened the trunk, everything was still there, my beach bag, my shopping bag from my last trip to the mall, even the survival kit my dad insisted on. I couldn't believe she had done that for me.

"Thank you." I said again as I slid into the driver's seat. I took in a deep breath, the air freshener was still fresh, and the car still smelled like the beach of home. I turned around and slowly began driving down the long driveway. As I got on the highway, I stepped on the pedal, and could feel the speed as the car accelerated. The best thing about a private island? No speed limits. As the speedometer crossed the 100 line, I glanced behind me to make sure there wasn't anyone that could see me. I would have to get used to the tiny speed limits here but not today. I urged the car a little more, getting more towards 150, when I remembered where I was headed, just in time, I slowed down and exited the highway, I noticed another car behind me, hoping they hadn't seen me and my speed, as I pulled into the school parking lot.

There were many students already there, all staring at me. It took me a moment to remember why. The car. It's not every day someone pulls up to school in a seven thousand hundred dollar car. I was considering going back home and asking Rose to drive me, but one glance at the clock told me she had already left for work. The car behind me honked, reminding me that I needed to park. I found a spot close to the building, wanting to disappear quickly. Before I had even turned off the engine there were about twenty teenage boys surrounding my car, it was times like these that I thanked god for heavily tinted windows. Maybe if I stayed in the car long enough, they would go away. But the boys began knocking on the windows.

"Wow, man, sweet ride." I heard one of them say. Great, they thought I was a guy.

'Well,' I said to myself. 'If I don't get out now, I will be late to my first class, and I may never have the courage to come back. Fine it's decided. I'm going in.'


	2. Chapter 1

I hesitated to open the door, but after a deep breath, I pushed the button. The door slid open revealing me.

The bystanders were completely speechless, the girls, who had obviously been hoping for a hottie, were disappointed. And the boys, expecting said hottie to be a boy, were impressed.

I grabbed my books bag and stepped out of the car,making sure to lock it twice. I made my way through the crowd and soon found that I had a following of boys. They followed me the entire way to the office. When I went inside, they stood outside and stared at me through the window. The crowd was smaller, and I guessed that some had stayed outside to look at the car.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan, I was told to pick up my schedule."

The receptionist smiled up at me. "Why, hello dear. Here is your schedule and a map. If you have any questions, just come down here and ask." Then she noticed the boys staring through the window, "Try not to put too many of those boys under your spell, leave some for the other girls." She laughed and went back to doing her paperwork.

I turned around and headed out the door, the boys stepped back against the wall to let me pass. I walked quickly, hoping my English class was close. I turned the corner and found it. I walked in and looked for the teacher. I didn't see anyone that looked old enough to be a teacher. Everyone was talking to each other, but looked up when I walked past them. The bad thing about moving to a small town, is that everyone knows each other. I stood next to the teachers desk, hoping he or she would come in soon. A few minutes passed and one of the boys from the desk farthest back came up to me.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Cullen, but everyone calls me Emmet." He extended his arm for me to shake. I looked him up and down, there was no way this guy was a teacher, college maybe, but definitely not a teacher. He put his hand down. "What's your name?"

"Bella Swan."

"Oh, yes, they told me you'd be coming today. Don't worry, we are just coming off summer break, you won't have much to catch up."

"Yeah, I moved here a month ago." This guy has got to be joking, he had to be a student.

"Oh, you came right as we were ending." I didn't think I heard him right, only a month summer vacation?

"You can sit right there." He pointed to a spot in the middle of the room.

"Okay, thanks." I took my seat.

"Okay, class settle down." Mr. Cullen said as the bell rang. The class was suddenly quiet. I was half expecting someone else to walk in and call this kid's joke. But no one did. They all looked at him with respect.

"I hope you all had a good break." Everyone started breaking out into their own conversations about how wonderful their break was. "Kids?" We all looked back to the front. "Lets take out our books. Here Bella, you can use this one." I took the book, still very confused.

We were in the middle of silently reading a section in the middle, when the door swung open. In walked the most handsome boy I had ever seen. Ever. His dark brown hair was partially covering his eyes, but I could see their beauty underneath. He flashed a bright white smile to no one in particular.

"Hey man, sorry I'm late." he said giving the teacher a one armed hug. "Hope it's okay."

"Sit down Ed. And get out your book."

He started walking over to the seat next to me. "Hey, I'm Edward." He said to me.

"Bella, hi." He took his seat and began reading like the rest of us.

After a few minutes he raised his hand, "Emmet? Can I read this later?"

"Come on Edward, you know what happens when you get home, you sit on your butt and do nothing."

"Yeah well, I changed this summer."

"Ed, I live in the same house remember? You haven't changed."

This is where the conversation lost me. Everyone in class was back to talking about their summer, and the reading was forgotten to all except me. I had just finished when the bell rang.

"Class, finish your reading. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Emmet." The class chorused. I guess in a small town, you have to know your teachers outside of school too.

We all stood up to leave, I was eager to get to my next class, even though it was math.

The class went by uneventfully. No one bothered me and I was able to get all my work done. As I left the class, I noticed the boys were following me again. I looked down at my schedule, and to my surprise, saw that I had the next hour for lunch. I walked to the main office. The same woman from before was sitting at the desk.

"Hello. Everything going alright?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. I was just wondering, what is your open lunch policy?"

"Oh, all juniors and seniors can leave campus. Just make sure you aren't late, after five tardies, you can't go out anymore."

"Okay. Thank you."

I wanted to get away from the school, especially the followers I had. I hurried out the front door and unlocked my car. I saw that pretty much the whole school was leaving. I quickly ran to my car, and opened the door. I climbed in and closed it. It was a relief to be alone. I started the engine and turned on the radio. I pulled out of my spot and exited the parking lot. All I wanted to do was get away.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: okay, this one isn't very long, but oh well.**

**Tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned these wonderful characters, I would not be sitting in this dump. I would be off writing another book, for the lovely fans (And I would probably trying to get Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kellan Lutz, and Jackson Rathbone to have lunch with me so we could "talk about the next movie")**

As I excited the parking lot, I turned the opposite direction of the other cars. I assumed they were all going towards were the food was, but I wasn't in the mood to be with them right now. As I sped away from the other cars, I noticed a silver one do a U-turn and start heading my direction.

**_EdwardPOV_**

She was absolutely gorgeous. Sitting next to her for the whole class was torture. I wanted to reach out and kiss her right there. _Wait, that's a little pervy. _Fine. I wanted to talk to her, but it would be impossible to with everyone so quiet.

If only I could distract Emmet, then everyone would start talking.

After a few minutes I raised my hand, "Emmet? Can I read this later?"

"Come on Edward, you know what happens when you get home, you sit on your butt and do nothing."

"Yeah well, I changed this summer."

"Ed, I live in the same house remember? You haven't changed."

I had expected something of this sort, and as I expected, the rest of the class used the opportunity to talk about their summer break.

Bella kept her head down, she was still reading, I just stared at her.

Before I knew it the bell rang and class was over. I followed her to see where her next class was, it was math, the room next to mine.

I watched her enter, her hair was pushed back by the breeze coming in from the window, I could smell her perfume.

The bell rang, and I ran to get into my class. I spent the entire time thinking about her, listening to the others in the class, I found out it was her who had the awesome car in the parking lot. _She's rich, she'll never go out with me_. I thought, going back to my work.

I heard the bell ring, _class can't be over yet, can it? _ I looked at the clock, sure enough it was time for lunch. I was about to follow the normal lunchtime routine: throw your books in your locker, gather up your friends, stuff at least four people in your car, and go to town square to eat at one of the four restaurants in town.

My sister Alice came up behind me as I put my books down.

"Edward, can I come with you?" As a sophomore, she wasn't allowed to leave for lunch.

"Go with Jasper." I said, as Jasper her boyfriend, came around the corner and started walking towards us.

"But Edward, I want to go with you." She wined.

Jasper came up behind her "Are you ready?"

"No, I have to talk to Edward. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I'll see you later." He snuck a quick kiss, and ran off to find his friends.

"Oops," Alice said, "Looks like I'm stuck with you."

As the youngest, Alice always got her way. "Fine." I said, and started heading off to my car. As we crossed the parking lot, Emmet waved at me, Alice had ducked down so he wouldn't see her.

"Alice, he already knows that you leave for lunch everyday."

"Yeah, but if he sees me, he'll tell mom." This was probably true.

The worst thing about your brother working at your school is that you can't hide anything from your parents. Otherwise, it's actually pretty nice, he is the best teacher ever, just because he's friends with everyone.

As we followed the other cars out of the parking lot, I noticed that Bella was going the other way.

"Edward, can we go the other way?" Alice asked.

"Sure." I didn't bother to ask why. I just wanted to see Bella again.

I looked over at Alice and she had a sneaky grin on her face.

"Alice, what did you see?"

"Nothing." She kept her eyes straight ahead.

"Alice...either tell me or get out." I slowed the car down, and pulled over a little.

"Okay, you're gonna fall in love with the new girl." My little sister had was very strange, anyone who can see can tell you that. But what most people didn't know, was that she has a very interesting gift. She sees the future. I know, it sounds like a load of crap, but she's usually right.

"Then why are we following her? We are going to freak her out."

"No Edward, you have to meet her."

"I already did in class."

"Yeah, but that doesn't count. She's going to Hill street. You have to meet her there."

I sighed, but kept driving to Hill Street. Contrary to it's name, Hill Street is completely flat. It was closed off years ago, because it doesn't lead to anything. It is hidden by forests, and for us kids, the perfect place to race.

_**Bella POV**_

I could see it up ahead. It was a long stretch of road, but I couldn't tell where it led. I decided to risk it.

I positioned myself in the middle of the road, checked my seatbelt and stepped on the gas. My engine seemed to me taunting me, asking for more speed. As I sped down the road, I saw the same silver car stop at the entrance to the road. I went even faster, hoping they hadn't see me.

As I got farther away from them, and went deeper in my thoughts, a tear rolled down my cheek.

_**EdwardPOV**_

This girl had to have a death wish, there she was speeding down Hill Street, she must have been going at least a hundred miles and hour.

Alice must have seen my face, "She'll be fine. Just stay here, she'll be back." I wasn't sure I wanted to stay where I was, we were in the middle of the road, blocking it. What if she is going too fast and can't stop, she'll kill us.

I shook the thought from my head, and sat there waiting.

Sure enough, after a minute or so, I could hear her getting closer to us. Then I could see her car.

"Alice, she's going to think we're stalking her." I said as I reached to start the car again.

"No, she won't just watch."

The car was coming right for us, but it seemed to be slowing down.

"Get out." Alice said to me.

I listened, it's usually best not to question Alice. As her car stopped, I walked over to the driver's side._ Hi, do you want to join my sister and me for lunch? Yes that's what I'll say. Not creepy at all_.

She rolled down the window, before I said anything, I could see that her eyes were red, she was crying.

_Say something idiot_, but I couldn't. Even with tears rolling down her face, she was beautiful.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Will you join my sister and I for lunch?"

She looked at my car, and Alice waved to her, "Sure, why not?" She said.

I ran back to my car, "Well?" Alice asked.

"Where should we go for lunch?" I turned the car around.

"Oooh, take her to Pepe's, it's romantic there."

"Yeah, just one problem, I told her you were coming."

"Oh." She was obviously disappointed. "Then let's just go to the diner."

I started driving towards the diner, checking every minute or so that Bella was still behind me.

When we pulled in, I jumped out of my car and went up to make sure they had a table, Alice ran over to Bella's car, probably to talk about her outfit.

_Maybe this won't be so bad_, I thought.


End file.
